Jellyfish Invasion

The jellyfish invasion all over the world is becoming critical. Warning from experts as reported by CNN (above) claims that jellyfish is taking over the oceans.

 

Do you know why?

Global warming & over fishing is only part of the problem. The single factor that directly affect jellyfish population is TURTLE. They are the check and balance for jellyfish. When the population of turtles decreases, the population of jellyfish explodes.

 

And why does the population of turtle decreases?

Pollution is the main culprit. Many turtles were found dead with plastic bags in their stomach. What goes around comes around! What we throw into the sea today will eventually affect us - killing us through the stings of jellyfish. Be warned ok.

A river polluted with plastics in Penang, Malaysia (Photo taken on 7 Nov 2013)

 

‘Perhilitan officers wanted bribe’

December 29, 2011
‘Perhilitan officers wanted bribe’
By ONG HAN SEAN
Star

KUANTAN: A pet shop owner is accusing a Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) officer of trying to solicit a bribe because he had in his possession a species of turtle protected under the Wildlife Conserva­tion Act 2010.

Hui Woon Chian, 51, claimed that three officers from Perhilitan visited his premises in Jalan Darat Makbar here on Dec 7 to carry out an inspection.

“But they did not show any identification nor did they have a warrant,” he said.

“One of them said he was a high-ranking officer and need not show me identification,” said Hui.

“They searched my shop. Then, they found three turtles on the front counter.

“The officer said the red-eared slider turtles were protected species and that I could be fined RM200,000 for each of them.

“He then said I should pay him so that I would not be fined,” he said after lodging a police report.

Hui said he was shocked by the “offer” and asked his sons to take photographs of him and the officer with the turtles.

“The officer was surprised by my action and tried to avoid having his picture taken.

“We had an argument when the other officers tried to intervene.

“They left after taking down our particulars,” he said.

To Hui’s surprise, he and his sons were summoned to the Kuantan police headquarters the next day to provide statements for allegedly injuring a Perhilitan officer.

“We were arrested and had to be bailed out. We did not hurt anyone.”

Hui’s wife Choi Yuet Hoe said after the incident, several Perhilitan officers returned to their shop and intimidated her.

“This time, they carried rifles and wore belts with bullets,” she said.

“They searched our shop again and asked about the turtles. I told them they had been taken to the police station. Then they left,” said Choi, who also lodged a separate police report.

Pahang Perhilitan director Khairiah Mohd Shariff said she has not received any report on the matter and could not comment.

More male turtles needed

January 13, 2011
By CHRISTINA CHIN
Star

GEORGE TOWN: Penang is trying to hatch more male turtles to mate with females so that the reptiles will not disappear from the island’s coastlines.

The Pantai Kerachut Turtle Conservation Sanctuary is working to maintain a breeding ratio of 70 females to 30 males under a programme which began three years ago.

Department licensing and resource protection officer Mansor Yobe said they needed to have more male turtles for the females which come to shore to lay their eggs eight times a year.

“If we don’t do this, there may not be any turtles left here in future,” he said at the sanctuary at the north-west tip of Penang island.

Besides Green Turtles, the Olive Ridley Turtles are also known to lay their eggs at Pantai Kerachut, Pantai Teluk Kampi, Pantai Teluk Ailing and Pantai Teluk Ketapang on the island’s north-west coast.

Mansor said records from 2000 until 2006 showed that close to 100% of all hatchlings at the sanctuary were females.

He said they then started testing various sites by burying the eggs in shaded spots under trees or in cooler areas to try to get more male turtles hatched.

He added that a shaded hatchery was built at a cost of RM16,500 in 2009 to help determine the gender of the turtles.

“After collecting the eggs from several sites, we placed them in the shaded hatchery where the temperature is about 28.2 degrees Celsius.

“Eggs buried in the sand outside the shaded hatchery will produce females as the temperature there is hotter at 30 degrees Celsius,” he said.

He said eggs at the sanctuary were hatched on the beach rather than in a temperature-controlled incubator because research has shown this produced healthier hatchlings.

He said last year, some 5,000 eggs were collected and 70% were successfully hatched.

“We hope to collect the same number this year,” he said, adding that the peak period for turtles to lay eggs is between December and August.

Activities of Penang National Park - Release of Turtles?

"Some activities will be opened up to the public soon and among them are canoeing, visit to the Kuala Sungai Pinang mangrove forest, release of turtles, bird watching and the Canopy Walk".

If you have read the Star (12 April 2010) - "Boat trip into mangrove swamp and other activities in store at national park" (read below) then you will be surprised that one of the activities is releasing of turtles!
This is the most insane activity. Don't this people realise that releasing of turtles during the day will attract natural predators - the eagles, fish, dolphins etc? Turtles that hatched naturally at dawn, when both temperature and visibility are low have better chance to survive. Beside, these hatchlings have been struggling in the enclosure and would have been exhausted by the time they were released. Hatchlings should be immediately collected and released into the sea. Having an activity that jeopardise the lives of the turtles is not eco at all. The national park was declared to protect wildlife, but sadly, tourism is now more important than protection of wildlife. Malaysia Boleh again!

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Monday April 12, 2010
Boat trip into mangrove swamp and other activities in store at national park
By K. KASTURI DEWI
Star

OUR guide Pak Rahmat turned off the engine so as not to disturb the birds and marine life when our boat entered the Kuala Sungai Pinang mangrove forest in Penang.

Just then, an eagle perched on top of one of the pokok api-api (Avicennia spp) took flight, creating a perfect opportunity for the shutterbugs in the boat to click away their cameras.

Our boat, carrying about six of us, accompanied 10 paddlers in five canoes from the second entrance of the Penang National Park (Taman Negara Pulau Pinang) in Kuala Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau.

Along the banks of the mangrove swamp, we saw fishermen laying traps for crabs while others were mending nets in their boats at dilapidated wooden jetties.

As the boat drifted deeper into the mangrove forest, we sat back, soaking in the tranquil ambience of the mangrove forest.

For some of us, it was our first time making such a trip into a mangrove forest by boat.

The cruise was the first organised for a group of media representatives and invited guests as part of a media familiarisation trip to the newly-upgraded Penang National Park.

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) wildlife conservation ambassador and Era radio deejay Adifasha Juraimi was one of the invited guests.

The trip was held in conjunction with the park’s two-day Community Carnival held on April 10 and April 11 to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the site being gazetted as a national park.

After getting back to the Kuala Sungai Pinang jetty to hop on to another bigger boat, we headed for the newly built 250m-long Canopy Walk which hovers 15m above the ground.

The Canopy Walk is accessible via Sungai Teluk Tukun or Pantai Kerachut.

From the suspended walkway, one is able to view the lush forest from an interesting angle.

The soothing sounds of fresh water flowing from the mountains and the crisp cool morning air are enough to attract visitors to the Canopy Walk.

We ended the half-day tour of the park with a kampung-style lunch at the park’s administration office in Teluk Bahang.

Some activities will be opened up to the public soon and among them are canoeing, visit to the Kuala Sungai Pinang mangrove forest, release of turtles, bird watching and the Canopy Walk.

Park superintendent Wan Mohd Adib Wan Mohd Yusoh said about 20 certified nature guides would be trained to attract more visitors to the park.

“Being familiar with the places, the guides, who are locals, will be able to provide the right information to visitors,” he said.

Wan Mohd Adib said activities were now arranged by the park only upon request.

“We have plans to open up these activities to the public in the near future,” he said.

On the second day of the carnival, the Kerachut Conservation Run and a handphone photography competition were held. There were also a colouring contest, recycled invention competition, mural painting and other activities.

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Monday April 12, 2010
100 baby turtles released into sea
By CHRISTINA CHIN
Star

IT was an exciting affair for dozens of nature lovers as they cheered enthusiastically for more than 100 newly-hatched baby turtles that were struggling to make their way into the open sea.

The hatchlings were released from Pantai Kerachut in Muka Head, Penang.

Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) wildlife conservation ambassador Adifasha Juraimi, who is also an Era radio deejay, said he was “happy and excited” to be at the Turtle Conservation Centre to witness the event.

“I am an animal lover so I am thrilled to be here. This is my first encounter with turtles and they are just so wonderful,” he said.

The release was held in conjunction with the park’s two-day Community Carnival.

Penang Fisheries Department licensing and resource protection branch chief Mohd Rafi Hassan said the centre targeted to release 6,000 turtles into the sea this year under its conservation project.

The young turtles were only released when it was dark to prevent eagles and fishes from spotting them.

“Last year, 5,200 turtles were successfully hatched from 8,543 eggs.

“We hope to collect 10,000 eggs this year and successfully hatch at least 6,000 turtles.

“Since January, we have released almost 700 baby turtles into the sea,” he said, adding that the eggs were collected from Pantai Teluk Ketapang Kecil, Pantai Teluk Kampi and Pantai Kerachut to be hatched at the centre.

The department purchases the eggs from appointed collectors at a price of RM2 each.

“So far, we have not received any reports of people collecting the eggs illegally — which is good news,” Mohd Rafi said.

Department officer Mansor Yobe said the uncertain weather conditions and temperature were the main reasons for the eggs failing to hatch.

“Here at the centre, we prefer to let the eggs hatch in the turtles’ natural habitat (on the beach) rather than in a temperature-controlled hatchery,” he said.

“This is because research has shown that in-situ hatchlings (natural) are healthier than ex-situ (hatchery) hatchlings.

“Here, the main thing we look out for are predators such as monitor lizards, palm civets and crabs.

“We recently built new fences to ensure that the hatchlings are not attacked,” he said.

In September last year, 15 baby turtles had their heads bitten off by what was believed to be a palm civet.

Mohd Rafi said the incident occurred because the eggs had hatched earlier than expected when no one was stationed there that night.

Turtle excluder devices may be made mandatory

The world should barred Malaysian prawn catchers' export. Only then these cruelty to turtle will end. Anybody listening?
Admin

Turtle hatchery at Pantai Kerachut, Penang National Park

December 19, 2009
Department: Turtle excluder devices may be made mandatory
Star

GEORGE TOWN: The Fisheries Department is trying to find suitable nets with turtle excluder devices for local fishermen.

Fisheries Department’s Malaysia Marine Resources Management section head Ahmad Saktian Langgang said many countries were using the device which enable trapped turtles in prawn trawler nets to escape.

“We introduced the device years ago but feedback from local fishermen was not positive as they said it’s a burden for them when they haul their net.

“The department is not making the device compulsory among fishermen yet. But if situation gets critical, we will consider making it a requirement to renew their fishing licence,” he said after attending the Awareness and Education Programme on Endangered Fish Species at Taman Negara, Teluk Bahang on Thursday.

A turtle excluder device is less than RM1,000.

Malaysian prawn catchers were barred from exporting to the United States more than 10 years ago for not installing the device.

The department’s assistant fisheries officer Mohamad Zabawi Saat said there were 25 turtle sightings in Penang this year.

A total of 82 nests were also found.

“With the help of non-governmental organisations and the private sector to create awareness on saving the turtles, statistics showed that there were less eggs found in the market compared to five years ago,” he said.

There are currenly four types of turtles found in the country - penyu belimbing or Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), penyu agar or green turtles (Chelonia mydas), penyu lipas or olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) and penyu karah or Hawksbill turtles (Eret-mochelys imbricata).

Endangered turtles get a helping hand

Wednesday July 9, 2008
Staronline

KUALA TERENGGANU: Religious leaders have been roped in to create awareness in the preservation of turtles, particularly the endangered Leatherbacks.

World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Terengganu recently got imam of local mosques together and conducted workshops on the conservation of turtles and environment based on the tenets of religion.

The imam would now deliver their Friday sermons and give a bit of focus on how to prevent the turtles from going into extinction.

“We touched on various topics on conserving the turtle habitat to ensure they continue to land on Terengganu beaches,” said WWF turtle programme team leader Rahayu Zulkifli.

“Imam have certain influence in their community and therefore we decided that they are the best people to put the message across,” she said.

“Islamic teachings have numerous discourse on environmental issues, hence the objective of the workshop is to link the teachings to conservation of nature and turtles.”

“We are not going to stop here, this is only a preliminary step and we will continue this crusade in other districts,” she said, adding that Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) facilitated the workshops.

Despite intense enforcement from various agencies, turtle eggs are still being poached at several hatching sites and sold illegally.

Other threats to the turtles include over-development of coastal areas, uncontrolled tourism and the use of non turtle-friendly fishing methods.

Another turtle found dead on Terengganu beach

When I was at Rantau Abang in 2006, I saw a sick Green Turtle on the beach. No sign of injury on her. I tried pushing her back into the sea but was not successful. Are these turtles a warning to us of the coming "end of the world"?
Read the article below:

Source: thestar.com.my
Friday February 15, 2008

Another turtle found dead on Terengganu beach
KUALA TERENGGANU: Four turtles have been found dead on Terengganu's beaches in the last five weeks.
In the latest case, a lifeless female hawksbill turtle measuring 1.5m in length was found on the beach off Gong Balai in Merchang, near here, late Tuesday.

Washed up: Five-year-old Muhd Ikhwan Hakim from Merchang taking a closer look at the dead turtle found beached off Gong Balai in Terengganu.

Villager Abdul Halim Ariffin, 39, believed the reptile could have died after being caught in a fishing net.

“Judging from its injuries, I think the turtle died several days before it washed ashore,” he said when met here.

On Jan 25, a lifeless male green turtle measuring 89.5cm was found on the beach off Universiti Malaysia Terengganu here.

In two previous cases, a green turtle washed up at the Tok Jembal beach, some 2km from the university, on Jan 6 and a giant soft-shelled turtle was found dead on the beach fronting the Botanical Course Camp Resort in Merang on Jan 15.

The soft-shelled turtle measured 63cm long and 55cm wide.
Over the last two years, 20 turtles have been reported stranded in Terengganu.